Govt all set with new anti-poverty program

Govt all set with new anti-poverty program

JAKARTA (JP): The government is ready to launch another
poverty alleviation program next month that will cover nearly
five million families around the country.

The program, called Kredit Usaha Kesejahteraan Rakyat
(People's Prosperity Business Credit), or Kukesra for short, will
involve extending credits to help poor families start their own
businesses. Families will initially receive a modest sum of Rp
20,000 (US$8.70), which will multiply each time it is repaid
within four months.

State Minister of Population Haryono Suyono, whose office is
supervising the Kukesra program, said President Soeharto has
extended a loan of Rp 100 billion ($44 million) to launch the
program.

The program is the second initiative of the President after
his Presidential Aid for Backward Villages (IDT) program, which
aimed at attacking poverty at its roots.

The IDT, launched in April 1994, covers areas with large
populations of poor people. Villages not covered by the IDT
program will have access to the Kukesra program.

Government figures show that as many as 26 million Indonesians
are currently living below the official poverty line.

Haryono, who is also chairman of the National Family Planning
Board, told reporters in his office that the Kukesra program is
expected to initially cover five million families, rising to 11.5
million eventually.

The Kukesra program is an extension of the government's
Tabungan Kesejahteraan Rakyat (People's Prosperity Savings)
campaign, which was designed to encourage poor people to take up
the habit of saving.

Selected Takesra participants must have a savings of at least
Rp 2,000 to be entitled for the initial loan of Rp 20,000.
Haryono cited the preparation of pecel (a vegetable dish similar
to gado gado) as an example of a business that could be financed
with a small loan.

The borrowers must repay the loan within four months, and
strive to double their savings during that period to Rp 4,000.

During the second round, they will be entitled to loans
amounting to Rp 40,000. The credit ceiling will gradually
increase in line with the growth of their business.

The government has appointed Bank BNI 46 to handle the loans.
The bank will work with PT Pos Indonesia, the state post office
company whose branches in nearly every village in the country
position it perfectly to distribute the funds.

Haryono gave the technical details of the program yesterday
before Director General of Tax Fuad Bawazier and officials from
the Ministry of Social Services, the Ministry of Home Affairs,
the Office of the Minister of National Development Planning and
House members of Commission VIII for population issues. Also
present at the briefing were representatives of Bank BNI 46 and
PT Pos Indonesia.

Haryono said the Takesra fund will be replaced in April when a
new fund, called the Dana Sejahtera Mandiri, will be set up with
money donated by the country's biggest corporate and individual
taxpayers.

The Dana Sejahtera Mandiri fund was set up after President
Soeharto appealed to those with annual after-tax incomes over Rp
100 million to donate two percent of their wealth to help finance
the government's fight against poverty.

Haryono said the fund will be established once all the
prospective participants send in their tax returns at the end of
the fiscal year on March 31. (01)